Quote:
Originally Posted by Gamer_2k4
I wouldn't go that far; as a sci-fi romance story it's pretty mediocre, and while it CAN stand alone, it's much better in context. The reason Disappearance works as a movie (that is, the reason it stands out against the other stories in the series) is because of all the things it DOES that the other stories DON'T. Suspense! Action! Character development! No Haruhi! Seriously, you take out the useless characters (Itsuki, young Mikuru, etc.), make Yuki everything her fans want her to be, throw in a few time loops, and put the world at stake, and what do you think will happen?
Disappearance works well as a film only as long as it's in the context of the rest of the series. Asakuru stabbing Kyon only works if you've seen the original episode where that happened; otherwise she's just some faulty, rebellious mook. Yuki as a timid literature club member only works if you've had some time to get attached to her normal character. Kyon going back in time and seeing about twenty different versions of himself there only works if you know where the other versions come from.
If you're watching the movie by itself, you don't have any time to get connected to the characters. You feel no attachment to them. The events wouldn't make a lot of sense. It wouldn't be a romance story at all, because the entire premise of Kyon making a choice between Haruhi and Yuki is predicated on the audience knowing his relationship with both in the first place. Otherwise, his decision would seem like, "Yeah, you're nice and all, but honestly, there's this other girl, so...."
That's not a good romance story.
|
Gamer, I think we know that Yuki is your favorite character in the series(and don't get me wrong, I really like her too. She's my third favorite of the characters) and I think most of us get that you don't like Haruhi. (She is my favorite character with Kyon a very close second). Yes, Disappearance has Action, Suspense, Major Character Development for both Kyon AND Yuki and the plot necessarily has little screentime for Haruhi. It also has some very nice moments between Kyon and Haruhi including the fact that she never left his side for 3 whole days.
I think the film can basically stand on its own but watching the series beforehand would help establish the relationships between the characters including the very crucial relationship that Kyon and Haruhi have with each other.
Disappearance marks a turning point for Kyon. The roof scene shows that the SOS-dan is his Nakama and that nobody, not even a nigh-omnipotent alien entity is going to do harm to any of his Nakama. It also shows that Kyon understands that Haruhi has changed since she met him and that he knows her very well.
In fact in Snowy Mountain Syndrome,
So yes, Disappearance works as a romantic story if it highlights and shows some development to the Haruhi and Kyon relationship.